Light in the Dark
by Jay'sWings
Summary: Khan does not betray Kirk on the U.S.S. Vengeance, and is therefore allowed by StarFleet to reawaken his crew. They are given the U.S.S. Vengeance to control and are to accompany the U.S.S. Enterprise on its five year mission. But does StarFleet go too far when Kirk is assigned as Khan's FO? Spock and the others think so, but Khan will not give up Kirk without a fight. Kirk/Khan
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek! Star Trek belongs to its rightful and respected owners! Enjoy!

_Prologue_

_Fate_

I always imagined that the first person I saw when I awoke from my slumber would be one of my crew members. My dreams were filled with visions of them as I slept, and I longed for the days when we would be reunited once more. Unfortunately, fate decided a different path for me, and when my eyes first opened, I was greeted by a foreign presence, one I had never seen before.

Analyzing him at once, I determined the male who awakened me to be a human, near fifty years of age, and a powerful male, due to the smirk on his face and the way he held himself. His short brown hair and weathered face supported my deductions, and as I was guided out of my chamber, he began to speak to me. A part of my brain focused on what he was saying, and later I would go back and remember what he was telling me, but I wanted to look around. I had not seen the world in quite some time, and I desperately wanted to find my crew. Surely this man had awakened all of us?

Looking around the small, sparsely furnished room, I noticed two men in uniforms standing by the door. Guards perhaps? Human guards? Smirking at the idea of _humans_ being able to take me on, I took a few steps forward, a little unbalanced on my weak legs. The man who woke me didn't seem to like being interrupted and told me to stop, but I was determined to see what was beyond my quarters. Taking another step, I smiled as I regained control of my body, and without a word, lunged past the guards and through the doorway in one swift movement.

The first thing I noticed was the shine of everything. All around me technology sparkled and people moved like clockwork. If I wasn't looking for my crew, I would have stopped and observed more, but I desperately wanted to make sure they were all right. A firm hand grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, and again I faced the man with the weathered face. Tired of searching, I used my mouth for the first time in years and spoke,

"Where's my crew?"

The man looked at me with a stunned expression for a moment, as if he was surprised I could talk. However, he soon regained his usual calm, controlled face and replied,

"I only woke you up, son. You are an experiment, and if you prove useful to us, I will awaken the rest of your crew. But let's slow down for a minute. You'd probably like to know where you are first though."

Again, the man proceeded to continue speaking, but my thoughts were far away. Clenching my fists, I tried to control my rage at this man's indignant attitude toward the rest of my crew. I would have a hard time killing him now and getting away with it, so I stood there as he guided me around what he called "the nonexistent" floor. There were no windows, and stairwells only leading up, so it was probable that we were underground.

"This is where you'll be spending nearly all of your time," the man continued. "We're on the brink of war son, and we need to be ready. We need advanced machines, advanced tactics, and advanced soldiers. That's where you come in."

We walked by a group of people huddled around what appeared to be a torpedo of some sort. Eyeing the machinery, I saw it was incomplete, and poorly structured. Perhaps this is what the man meant; I was going to fix everything these people were incapable of fixing. Upon thinking this I had to control my anger yet again. I did not work for _anyone_, and I certainly wasn't this man's personal lackie.

"Your tests will begin in two days. For today and tomorrow you will spend your time getting to know the area. Failure to behave or failure to produce results will result in your immediate return to your beauty sleep. Success, and we'll wake your crew up for their installment in this program."

I looked at the man as he lectured me, trying to see past his hard exterior. What I found was to be expected; he was extremely nervous and greatly excited all at once. He wanted me to be powerful, but he was also worried that I would become too powerful.

"The name's Marcus," the man stuck his hand out. At first I was confused, but then I remembered this gesture as an old sign of peace. Taking his hand and shaking it, I replied,

"Khan."

"That reminds me son," Marcus spoke suddenly, "your new name is John. John Harrison. A new name allows you to start from a clean slate, so to speak, and put your past behind you."

"My past is everything to me," I replied. This man might have had some shred of power over me now, but the second I had my crew, he would not be so lucky. "My past is my crew, and they are my family. Can you guarantee their awakening if I do what you ask?"

At this, Marcus stared at me for a long time, trying to find a weakening in my resolve. By the disappointed look in his eyes, I knew he found none.

"We'll see son. We'll see."

* * *

After we finished touring the nonexistent floor, Marcus gave me permission to walk around the upper floors of our location for an hour so I could become more aware of my surroundings, but warned me that if I tried anything, I would be punished severely.

Not in the mood to resist and begin a fight, I agreed and was led up the stairs from the underground bunker onto the first floor by a guard who had been following Marcus and I since I had awoken.

"Here you are," he said stiffly. "You will be watched, so please don't attempt anything. You may talk with anyone, just use your new name and don't tell them of your purpose here."

"Then what can I talk to them about?" I hissed back, but I was already being gently shoved through a doorway. Before I could react, the door closed behind me, and I was standing in the middle of a floor completely packed with people.

It was enraging, to say the least.

I didn't know where I was, what year it was, or even who I was working for. Marcus had been frustratingly vague, and all I could hope for was that he wasn't lying when he said he had my crew and he would awaken them if I cooperated. This was the most infuriating part of our deal (if I could even call it a deal); I wasn't allowed to even see my crew members. In fact, as I thought about it, I realized the position I was in, and how I would get completely screwed over if I trusted this man, but I would get put back to sleep if I tried to resist him. My hands were tied, and as much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't untie them alone.

I was so engaged in my thoughts, I didn't notice that I was walking in a crowd of people, when a shoulder suddenly planted itself into my neck and I was roughly shoved to the ground. Instincts setting in, I focused on the man directly above me, analyzing him; his glazy brown eyes, fat face, and smug smirk.

"Whoops," he said slowly, his smirk widening, indicating a low IQ and undeserved confidence. "I didn't hurt ya buddy, did I?

Calculating the probability of Marcus punishing me for beating up a man after two hours of being awake, I bit my lip. Even though every ounce of blood in my veins was pumping, and my muscles were tense, ready to pounce, but the faces of my crew were forefront in my mind. I couldn't risk my crew, I simply couldn't.

"I am fine," I replied as calmly as possible, rising from the ground.

"Oh well that's good," the man said loudly. "I was afraid I broke that pretty face of yours." Looking around, I saw that a small ring of anxious people had formed around us. This man's smugness was igniting the anger in me, and after being asleep for three hundred years, I was desperate to show this man his place. I was desperate for some control. Who were these people, to awaken me, to ask me to help them, and then to treat me so horribly? I was Khan. I was a ruler. I was a captain.

I was not to be toyed with...made fun of...controlled.

But as I reared back, fist at the ready, to show everyone my power, the man was already falling to the ground. Everyone turned away from me for a moment to stare at the person connected to the outstretched fist. Joining their gaze, my eyes settled upon the figure.

The first thing I noticed was his smile. He wasn't grinning like the man on the ground was just a moment ago, but he had a tiny smile on his face, the kind of grin that showed he was satisfied by planting a fist in the man's face. His eyes were bright blue, just like my own and perhaps even bluer, and his face was framed by short blonde hair.

A sharp groan came from the ground, awakening everyone from the awed silence that had hushed the crowd. Blue Eyes lost the grin on his face, and crossed his arms.

"Targeting new comers again Cupcake? I know you're upset about not passing your Weapons class, but you don't need to take it out on random strangers."

Cupcake stood up slowly, still obviously reeling from Blue Eyes' punch.

"Well look...if it isn't...James Kirk, Mr. Perfect," he sputtered. "How about I take out my frustration on you?!"

The fat man lunged at Kirk, but the latter was too fast, and quickly darted out of the way, his grin returning as the fight re-engaged. However, his happiness was short lived. Cupcake managed to turn quicker than probably anyone expected, and tackled Jim to the ground. Kirk landed on the ground with a sickening thud, and it was this that awakened my muscles. Before this disgusting man could hurt Kirk further, I lunged at Cupcake, purposely hitting one of his lungs with a fist and colliding our heads together. A thunderous crack sounded as our skulls hit each other, but mine remained in perfect condition. Cupcake, however, was not so lucky, and fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Kirk was up in a second, right at my side.

"Is he..."

"No," I replied. "He is only unconscious."

"Perfect," Kirk panted, grinning at me. Not sure how to respond, I allowed a small smile on my own lips.

"John," I said and stuck out my hand, although the word sounded out of place. This man who didn't know anything about me had stood up for me, and I was already lying to him.

"Jim," Kirk spoke as he took my hand, looking around at the crowd that was now beginning to disperse. Shouts could now be heard throughout the floor, and even though I knew next to nothing about this place, it wasn't hard to figure out that the men running towards us were not happy with our handy work. Jim seemed to realize this as well.

"Security," his eyes darted to a crowd up ahead, where we could easily lose the security, then returned them to me. "Can you run?"

Nodding, I took off with Jim into the crowd of people. I didn't know where I was, what year it was, and who anyone I was pushing past was. But what I did know, _was,_ that the man running only a few paces ahead of me (amazing since I had never seen a normal human run at my speed) was a man of compassion. Looking at his fierce blue eyes, now excited by adrenaline and dilated with energy, I felt strangely drawn to James Kirk.

I had never been one to believe in fate. I had always believed that I had the power over my own destiny, and running through the swarm of people with Jim at my side, I still believed that I was in control of my future as I always had been.

That didn't stop a silent prayer from escaping my thoughts; a prayer that James Kirk would not only be in my future, but that he would play a huge part of it.

* * *

I hope you all enjoy it and I would be immensely grateful it you reviewed!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek! Star Trek does not belong to me and belongs to its rightful and respected owners! Enjoy!

_Ch. 1_

_Breaking the Rules_

As fate would have it, Kirk did indeed play a part of my future, but not in the way I necessarily had planned.

After that day, I hadn't seen Kirk again. I hadn't been allowed onto the upper floors after that day, not because I misbehaved, but because I had no value up on the surface. All of my work, ideas, and efforts were to be underground. If I wanted to see my crew, I had to listen and not go up again. It had been a tough choice, because even though I had only met Kirk once, his smile was imprinted into my brain. He was a pleasant memory to me during my miserable time working for Marcus, and if I hadn't had the slight discoloration in my fist for the first few days after jabbing it into Cupcake's lung, the whole encounter wouldn't have seemed real to me.

The next time I had seen Kirk, was in fact, from a distance. He had been in a meeting of some sort, looking rather annoyed and puzzled. Thinking of my original plan to kill everyone in the meeting, I had hesitated. Kirk still had that look on his face, the look of compassion. Standing on a building not far away, I had been struck with a strange feeling in my stomach. I couldn't kill Kirk. I couldn't even injure him. I still was in his debt from that day he had helped me, and I would not let his debt go unpaid.

Therefore, when I had attacked the building, I had used my small ships guns to only shatter the windows. I had made sure only to send a message, not to kill. A message that Kirk had received, for only a little time later, we were face to face on Kronos. He had been angry at me, because in my attempt to get StarFleet's attention, I had severely injured a man named Pike, who apparently was a great friend and influence on Kirk. It had pained me to see Kirk upset, and again that feeling in my stomach had taken root, and I had surrendered immediately.

The two of us ended up defeating Marcus together. Having had successfully convinced Kirk that Marcus was the real enemy, I had flown with Kirk through space, had taken down all of the U.S.S. Vengeance's crew, and had captured Marcus with Kirk at my side.

I had enjoyed every moment of it.

* * *

Now I stood before the high council of Starfleet, my eyes fixed on none other than the Captain himself. To my utter amazement, he was testifying for me, saying that I wasn't a danger to society and shouldn't be punished. The feeling in my stomach was now permanent, for ever since we had flown back to Starfleet, Kirk and I saw each other quite often. It was unsatisfying though, because Kirk rarely talked to me. He only spoke to me about court dates and what to say while on the stand, and although this was a level of interaction, I was hungry for more. I didn't understand why Kirk wasn't smiling at me like before. Strangely, I wanted to please him. This unnerved me, because I never wanted to please anyone. Yet with Kirk, I wanted him to look at me like before, like we were two separate halves of the same whole and we had finally found each other.

Kirk's testimony finished, and as he stepped down from the witness stand and went back to his seat with his crew, he glanced in my direction, only to look away.

"Khan Noonien Singh," the judge of the Starfleet court turned to me. I returned his gaze, but still found my line of vision pulling towards Kirk.

"Due to the evidence brought to this court and the testimonies we have heard, we have decided to revoke our originally planned punishment for you," the judge began.

"Thank you, I-

"In addition, Mr. Singh, your crew will be reawakened and you will lead them in your command of the U.S.S. Vengeance."

Silence filled the room as the Starfleet members and officials who were watching the court case, stopped their conversations as they listened to the judge's sentence in awe. My own mouth dropped a little at this last statement. This was more than I could have ever hoped for. Emotion swelled inside of me and was on the dangerous verge of breaking, but I restrained. I had to keep it together until the end.

"Since Starfleet has no immediate need of the U.S.S. Vengeance, you will accompany the U.S.S. Enterprise on its five year mission."

I heard the gasps of the Enterprise crew behind me, but refused to turn around. Practically on the verge of crying, I bit my lip and squeezed my hands into fists. I would be flying the U.S.S. Vengeance, with my crew, accompanying Kirk and his own friends across the universe for five years. Everything I had hoped for was becoming a reality. The only thing that would make this better would be-

"Excuse me, High Officer...judge...sir" I turned, surprised by the voice. The voice I knew belonged to Jim Kirk. He was standing up now, his eyes glancing from the judge to me then back to the judge. "Will the Enterprise be debriefing the Vengeance on the mission or will you and the other Starfleet officers-

"You yourself will be in charge of showing Khan and his crew the ropes," the judge replied. When Kirk and the rest of his crew gave each other confused looks, the judge continued.

"You have been reassigned Kirk. Due to your superior knowledge of Khan and his ways, we have decided to place you as his first officer aboard the U.S.S. Vengeance."

I had to look away for a moment, as a smile crept onto my lips. Kirk was mine. This was unbelievable. He was no longer in the hands of that half Vulcan or the rest of his dimwitted crew. He would be among gods, and rightfully so, because he had the compassion of one.

"Now wait a minute, damn it!" another voice piped up. Turning back around and forcing myself to hide my smile, I found where the voice was coming from. It belonged to Kirk's CMO, Leonard McCoy, and the man was currently living up to his reputation of being a bit of an angry brute. Kirk had taken his seat again, but now this man was standing, hands balled into fists.

"I signed up to be Jim's CMO," McCoy continued. "Who's going to be the _god damn captain_ if he's working for Khan?"

"I believe Mr. Spock is Kirk's first officer," the judge hissed back. "Therefore he will assume command of the U.S.S. Enterprise and choose its new first officer. Now I suggest you sit down Mr. McCoy, before I throw you out of court for contempt."

McCoy didn't sit down, and this outburst seemed to inspire another member of Kirk's crew to stand up. I couldn't remember his name, but he had short hair and a round face, which was currently scrunched up in anger and confusion.

"No offense to ya High Officer," the man spoke in a heavy Scottish accent. "But I don't think it's fair that you take this lad away from us when he's performed so greatly. No offense to ya Spock," the man turned to Spock for a moment, "you'd make a...fine Captain, but Jim needs to stay."

"No offense taken Mr. Scott," that damned half vulcan now found it necessary to rise from his own seat. He looked at Kirk for a moment, who was still staring at me, his crew, and the council dumbfounded, and then Spock dared to speak.

"I too, am confused by this. It is not logical to reassign the Captain to a lower position on a different ship after he has worked for the Enterprise for quite some time. Besides, while I am glad that Khan's crew shall be reawakened, I am uncomfortable with the gamble we are taking by having the Captain be the first one to interact closely with these...flight risks."

"Do not be alarmed by my crew, Mr. Spock, or any of you for that matter," I hissed, trying to not let my anger at these imbeciles get the better of me. "I am their Captain, therefore I had to take extreme measures to try and save them. They will not be so extreme and they will follow my orders." The crew of the Enterprise could express their concern, but insulting _my_ crew was not allowed. I would not stand by while my family were called flight risks, without speaking on their behalf.

"Yes, Khan, we are quite aware that your crew will answer to you," the half Vulcan had the audacity to face me directly. "What remains unknown, is will your crew answer to Starfleet, and perhaps more importantly, will they answer to Jim?"

Before I had time to jump up and break the half Vulcan's neck, the judge spoke first.

"I will have order in my courtroom! This is what the council has decided! This is what will be done! Now away with all of you!"

All of the court rose at this, and the room turned to utter chaos. Kirk left in a hurry, not talking to anyone as he rose from his seat and walked out in the mob of people. I remained on the stand, eyes scanning the room. The crew of the Enterprise slowly got up, most of them looking dazed, as though they couldn't believe what had just happened had actually occurred. Well, they would just have to learn to accept it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Spock usher to the man McCoy, and the two discreetly left the others. Leaving the stand, I followed them out of the courtroom, keeping a distance so they wouldn't see me. After taking a few turns that lead into a deserted hallway, the two stopped, so I hid behind a corner as they began to converse.

"What the hell was that?" McCoy hissed. "They can't be allowed to do this!"

"While the council does have final say in matters such as this, I find this decision irrational and callous," Spock replied. "It is merely Starfleet trying to benefit its reputation by being able to say that it has members of Starfleet already interacting with Khan and his...crew."

The acid in the half vulcan's voice as he spoke of my crew was undeniable, and I had to pinch myself just to focus on not coming around the corner and destroying both of these men.

"Yeah well they're going to get Jim killed," McCoy spoke. "We don't know a god damn _thing_ about these people. We only know Khan, and if Jim's on a ship filled with Khans then he's not going to make it past the first week. Does Jim even like Khan?"

At McCoy's last statement, my heart skipped a beat. As Spock drew in a breath, I waited tensely.

"He does not _dislike_ Khan," Spock explained. "From what Jim has told me, he does not know what to make of him. Are you aware that he and Khan met many months before in one of the Starfleet bases?"

"No, but do tell," came McCoy's slightly sarcastic response.

"I do not know many of the details, but Jim told me that he had met someone named John at a Starfleet base, and they had beaten up the man whom Jim refers to as Cupcake," Spock continued. "Originally Jim looked favorably upon John, but after coming back to the base day after day and not finding John again, Jim assumed that John was uninterested in any form of friendship."

These words hit me like a brick wall. How could I, Khan Noonien Singh, have been so blockheaded that I hadn't realized that while I was underground working for Marcus, Kirk was up above looking for me? It suddenly made sense as to why Kirk was uncomfortable around me; he assumed that _I_ was uninterested in _him_.

He had never been more wrong in his life.

"And John turned out to be Khan," McCoy's words broke into my revelation. "And now they'll be working together. Jesus, what do we do Spock?"

After a moment of silence, the half Vulcan replied.

"We get the Captain back."

"We might have to break some rules," was the response.

"I know."

I withdrew from my place behind the corner and walked away, having heard enough. Not only did I need to find Kirk and explain everything to him, but my anger was almost exponential and if I had stayed a moment more, I would have lost it. I couldn't afford to hurt them now, not when I still had to mend my relationship with Kirk. If I injured one of his friends, it would be suicidal.

No, I would wait. Kirk was now under my command, and I wasn't going to give him up anytime soon.

Because when it came to Kirk, they weren't the only ones that were willing break the rules.

* * *

Thanks to everyone for so much support! I tried to reply to all of you but if I didn't let me know! Thanks also to Tara, Kat, Guest, Bubbleyou, em, Guest, and Yingxs for the reviews, since I couldn't reply to you guys! I would love it if you guys would continue this astounding support, and I hope you liked this chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek! Star Trek belongs to its rightful and respected owners! Enjoy!

Note: This is in Jim's POV. The pattern is two chapters in Khan's POV and then one in Jim's POV. So again...enjoy!

_Ch. 2_

_Start Anew_

"His condition is stable. You can go see him now, Commander Kirk."

Nodding to the nurse as I walked past her into the room, I breathed a sigh of relief as I met the eyes of Pike. He was still pretty banged up from Khan's attack, but at least he had regained conscious and had been functioning pretty well for the past couple weeks.

We didn't say anything for the first few moments. Pike just looked at me with a mixture of concern and pride, while I averted his gaze and checked on the medical sensors next to him.

"So Kirk," Pike finally spoke. "I hear you're going to work for the man who put me in this hospital bed."

Leave it to Pike to make me feel incredibly guilty in one sentence.

"It was the council's decision," I replied. "And I don't have your persuasiveness, so I couldn't argue my way out of it."

"If you could argue the decision, would you?"

"What does that mean Pike?" I wasn't in the mood right now to answer Pike's questions, because (and I would never admit this) I didn't have answers. Would I try to get off of Khan's ship if I could? Did I even like Khan? Questions and doubts swirled in my mind, and I couldn't think straight.

"Speak of the devil," Pike's comment snapped me out of my mental break down and I turned around, catching my breath as I saw Khan calmly standing in the doorway.

"May I come in?" he asked, his deep voice still managing to intimidate me just a little bit.

"Yeah, I guess so," I tried to pretend like it wasn't a big deal, while in reality I was shaking due to a mixture of fear, respect, and curiosity. Part of me longed to have Khan as a friend and was sad that Khan didn't return the favor, and the other part of me was disgusted at these thoughts. Khan put in Pike in the hospital for Christ's sake! But now the superhuman was here, and he made his way over to stand next to me, then turned to Pike.

"I wish to apologize for injuring you this badly," Khan began. "My intention was to merely send a message to Marcus, not to hurt you." Pike looked at me briefly before turning his attention to the superhuman.

"Well Khan, I'm sure if Jim or my crew was taken away, we'd be blowing up buildings too. Thank you for coming here, I'm sure Jim will enjoy working with you."

Suddenly the realness of what had happened today hit me. Hearing Pike say it, I finally realized that I would be apart from my crew as I voyaged through space, taking orders from Khan the entire way. The severity of my realization hit me, and clutching my stomach, I turned to Pike.

"Excuse me."

Pushing past Khan, I walked quickly through the hallway, my vision becoming blurred. Different faces pushed their way into the front of my brain, and I was seeing Scotty, Uhura, Sulu, Chekov, Bones, and...

"Spock!" I gasped out. We saw each other from opposite sides of the hallway, and when Spock saw my condition, he started running towards me. As I was falling, his strong hands caught me just before I hit the ground. The fall jerked me out of whatever emotional chaos I was experiencing, and all I could see was Spock, his face not far from my own as he looked at me with utter worry.

"Captain, you do not look well."

"No shit Spock. H-how'd you find me?" I replied, internally rolling my eyes at Spock's constant need to state the obvious.

"I couldn't find you anywhere outside the court room, so the next logical assumption was that you visited this hospital to see Pike, a man you look up to and would probably seek advice from at a confusing and difficult situation like the one you are in right now. However, your current state suggests you did not get what you came for," Spock explained.

Not being able to help it, I grinned and spoke, "I don't take advice from anyone but myself, remember? I'm as stubborn and illogical as you can get."

Spock actually managed a small smile before helping me up. It didn't last forever, because I was suddenly aware of a presence behind me, and I could only guess who it was.

"Khan," Spock spoke calmly, but I knew my best friend and I knew that the ever so slight twitch of his mouth meant that Spock was pissed that Khan was here.

"Mr. Spock," came the reply from behind me. Turning around slowly, I came face to face with the superhuman, who was glaring at Spock, not looking particularly pleased at my friend's presence himself.

"Sorry I ran out of there Khan, I didn't feel well," I spoke up, feeling the need to calm the tense situation. When Khan looked at me, his hard expression immediately softened as he responded.

"No apology necessary, I merely wanted to make sure you were alright."

"What were you originally doing here at this hospital, Khan?" Spock asked, and it was all I could do to repress a snicker at the acidity in his voice that he often never showed.

"I came to find _my _First Officer," Khan growled back. "I wish to debrief him on the U.S.S. Vengeance and my crew before we leave for the expedition. What time do our ships leave for their journey tomorrow, _Captain_ Spock."

"Approximately twelve hundred hours," Spock fired back, then turned to me. "I must go Jim, I have to prepare the Enterprise." The pleading look in Spock's eyes told me that he didn't want to leave, and even begged me to come with him. I desperately wanted to, but I couldn't. I couldn't push my limits right now, because it might get Spock in trouble too. If working with Khan and understanding him and his crew would benefit everyone, then I would do what I had to do.

"While your title may have changed officially, it has not changed for me," Spock smiled genuinely at me. "I'll see you tomorrow when the ships take off, Captain."

And with that, Spock nodded curtly to Khan and walked away, leaving me alone with the superhuman. I turned back to Khan, who was glaring at Spock's retreating figure.

"He does not appear to like me," he said, still staring as Spock rounded a corner and disappeared.

"He doesn't like many people," I tried to explain. "Don't take it personally, he just doesn't...connect well with others."

"Unfortunate," Khan turned back to me, and immediately I felt the intense gaze of his icy blue eyes. "I had hoped to form a friendship with him. Speaking of which,"

Khan stepped closer to me, eliminating most of the distance between us. Confused, I stayed where I was, and tried to calm my now furiously beating heart.

"It has become apparent to me that you might have assumed that your inability to find me after our first encounter meant that I did not wish to be friends with you," Khan began. Surprised that this was what Khan wanted to talk about and unsure of what to say, I didn't speak. Khan took this as a cue to continue.

"Marcus forced me to remain underground if I wanted to have my crew. Looking back on my decision to follow his orders, I regret it entirely. You are a compassionate man Kirk, and I wish to become friends with you at once."

If it was somehow possible, Khan appeared to be even closer to me as he spoke to me. When he finished, we were less than an inch apart, and I couldn't help it as I nervously gulped.

"Jim...forgive me."

"W-what?" I asked, dumbfounded. What in the universe could Khan be _apologizing_ to _me_ for?

"Forgive me for putting you through hell," Khan continued, completely serious. "I am repulsed by my earlier actions and wish to start anew."

And then the man stuck out his hand. Taking it and shaking it slowly, I spoke.

"Hi, I'm Jim Kirk."

"Hello, I am Khan Noonien Singh," Khan replied, taking my hand firmly in his own. To me utter embarrassment, I felt my cheeks flush. Turning my head to pretend to cough so Khan wouldn't see, I was internally reeling. It was a full minute before I finished fake coughing and turned back to face Khan, who was giving me a wry smile.

"Sorry, we can't all be you Khan and have no health problems whatsoever," I joked. "Some of us have to cough." It was a stupid joke, but I needed to lighten the situation.

Strangely though, Khan genuinely smiled at this. Shocked, I cracked a smile too, and soon the both of us were grinning like five year olds. In that moment, I forgave Khan. I forgave him for hurting Pike, I forgave him for making me chase him all the way to Cronos, and I forgave him for the past.

A strange beeping suddenly went off, and Khan jerked his head to his wrist. After looking at his wrist for a moment, Khan glanced up at me, a wry smile forming on his lips. In one fluid motion, he grabbed my hand and we started to run.

"Come, Jim," he said, still grinning and holding my hand as we hurried through the hallway. "My crew has been reawakened, and it would be my honor to introduce you to them."

After nodding in agreement, I took off with Khan, again trying to hide the stubborn redness that wouldn't leave my cheeks.

* * *

I know I know, this chapter was a shortie! But the next one won't be! I promise! Again, I think I PM'd everyone who reviewed, if I didn't just let me know so I can thank you. Thanks go to silentxangel, Jess, Yingxs, EmeraldEyed, Guest, Angie, Katatakay, Sapere, and anon, too! Thank you all again for your support, so review...pretty please?


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this! Star Trek is not mine and belongs to its respected and rightful owners! Enjoy!

Author's Note: Ok, so a lot of you guys either reviewed/PM'd me saying the last two chapters were...eh... So, after taking a look, I can see your point of view. Kirk has been a bit uncharacteristic with losing the Enterprise, and Khan isn't as sociopathic. First things first, I'm not Gene Roddenberry or J.J. Abrams, so I can't be perfect on with the characters. BUT...even with that being said, I didn't ask you guys to review just to ignore you! So this chapter, for those of you who were fine with the previous two chapters (and I'm not ignoring you guys either, I'm glad all of you who liked my story and characters so far have been kind enough to review and support me), I haven't changed much, but those who have wished for a chapter a bit more truer to the characters, I hope you like Khan in this chapter. I tried my best to make him a bit more controlling without overdoing it, and all of his behavior in the earlier chapters should be explained. Wow, that was longer than I thought it would be but anyways... enjoy :)

P.S. Dream scenes are all italicized...

_Ch. 3_

_Enlightenment_

When Jim and I finally reached the Star Fleet base where my crew was waiting, I wanted to be excited. I wanted to be thrilled. My family, who I hadn't seen in so long, had finally returned to me, and we were united once again. But I couldn't be excited because I was too angry, and this fact made me even angrier. Fury coursed through me, and it was all I could do not to scream out in frustration.

It was all Jim's fault.

He was the one who was making me feel this way. He was the one who was making me feel special, feel strange, feel..._human. _Simultaneously, I wanted to be his best friend and I wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. My stomach was churning, and my heart was pounding, and I had no idea why. Since I had seen Jim those many weeks ago from that rooftop, I had felt a need to rekindle the friendship that had formed on the day when he helped me, but this...this was something more. Something I couldn't describe, and it was _killing _me to be so utterly clueless.

Jim and I walked the corridors in silence. I didn't know what he was thinking, but the look he had on his face told me that he was facing an internal conflict like I was. Wondering if his conflict was about me like mine was about him, I was tempted to grab his hand again.

*Snap out of it Khan,* I scolded myself. *You are the Captain. He is the Commander. Stop letting him get control over you.*

It was when I thought this to myself, that something hit me. However, before I could pursue the thought further, Kirk and I were turning into a room and I was getting hugged by a slight yet strong figure. Snapping out of my thoughts, I froze as I saw who was in my arms.

"Esther."

Forgetting all of my troubles for a moment, I smiled and hugged my CMO back.

"Khan!" she squealed as she squeezed me harder in the embrace. After a few seconds, we pulled back, staring at each other in awe. She hadn't changed a bit. Her red hair was still as curly and unruly as ever, and her stormy grey eyes were ever as fierce yet still at the same time, peaceful. Her cheeks were still dotted with freckles, and dimples still formed when she beamed at me.

"I can't believe we're awake Khan! Well I can, because I knew you'd save us, but this is unreal! Everyone's awake too, Val and Merrick and Cory and-

"Wonderful Esther," I interjected. While I wouldn't have minded hearing her talk all day, I could see the other seventy one members of the crew behind her, all of them waiting for me with grateful smiles and open arms.

"Oh of course! You probably want to say hi to the rest of us!" Esther chirped. Before I could protest, she dragged me over to Val, who offered out his hand, and when I took it, pulled me into his massive figure for a tight embrace. I wasn't small to any measure, but next to Val, I was an ant. Standing six foot six and weighing two hundred pounds, my Russian chief engineer was a presence impossible to forget. While Val was huge and had an intimidating eye patch, bald head, and accent, his assistant, Cory, who stood next to him now, was the exact opposite. Upon first looking at Cory I almost didn't recognize him, until I remembered that right before we were frozen, he had cut his normally shoulder length blonde hair so now he had barely any. Cory, seeing me, smiled shyly and spoke,

"We've missed you Captain."

"Missed! Missed is not the vord! Ve have been dead vithout you Captin, but thanks to you, ve are alive again," Val spoke, and I smiled at hearing his voice, deep yet sentimental, again. Yet hearing him thank me made me realize that the real reason behind their awakening wasn't me, but rather the man standing behind me.

"Val, I would like to introduce you to Jim Kirk," I turned around to usher Kirk forward, only to realize that he wasn't still behind me. Whirling around, I panicked as I couldn't find him anywhere. A million thoughts ran through me head, and I was crushed by the thought that Jim had left me here to meet my crew by myself. Before I could get too worked up though, Cory prodded me and spoke,

"Captain, is the man you are looking for the one over there with Minnie?"

Following his line of vision, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Jim conversing with Minnie with a sly smile on his face. The two appeared to be getting along rather well judging from Minnie's kind smile which she rarely gave and Jim's own grin widening, which relieved me further, because I had been worried that Minnie would have been upset with Kirk taking her place as my first officer.

Yet with this relief, came anger. Again, Kirk had caused my emotions to become wild. Had I really grown so soft that I needed Jim behind me every second? Why was I acting this way? _Why?_ Never in all of my years had anyone ever made me feel the way Kirk did, and what was even more frustrating was that I wasn't sure whether I wanted to stop feeling this way about Kirk or if I secretly enjoyed my obsession with him. Even leaving Cory and beginning to walk over to Jim and Minnie made my heart race and my stomach tighten. My palms felt empty and I had the overwhelming desire to grab Jim's again, even though I knew he would only reciprocate for a short period of time before gently pulling away, like he had when we were running over to this building.

When I reached both of them, Minnie turned away from Kirk for a moment to give me a warm smile. Her own light brown hair and equally light brown eyes were just as they were before, although her skin seemed paler than I remembered.

"It's good to see you Khan," she spoke, and before I could reply, she too was in my arms. It was wonderful to have Minnie safe with me again. In my days before the freezing, she was my closest friend, family, and ally. Our fathers had fought together in many battles and we our morals and thought processes were very similar.

That being said, it wasn't a surprise to me that when we pulled away, she looked at me and then sneaked a glance at Jim, only to turn back to me with a wry grin on her face.

"What?" I mouthed. She merely rolled her eyes and mouthed,

"I'll tell you later."

When she left my arms, it was Jim and I staring at each other yet again, only this time, I refused to be the one to stick out my hand like a small child and beg for Kirk's return of the favor. He could reciprocate, no, he _would_ reciprocate. The awakening of my crew had reminded me of my still present power, and I was beginning to realize that it was time to use that power over Jim. Kirk was my first officer, and therefore I was his superior and he would show me respect by not making me obsess over him. Even if I didn't have a clue of what my feelings for Jim were, I was now determined to make Jim feel towards me, whatever I was feeling towards him. That same train of thought from earlier before I met my crew was beginning to turn in my head, but I pushed my thoughts aside and addressed my crew.

"Attention, everyone!"

Seventy-two heads turned to me, and I immediately got a rush from having so much power and influence. What was more, was that now a seventy-third head, Kirk's looked at me, and was awaiting _my_ orders. Oh, how I had missed this.

"We will meet up at the docking bay of the U.S.S. Vengeance tomorrow morning at eight hundred hours," I began. "Upon your awakening, you should have been informed of our current assignment. If there is any confusion, I will explain it again. We have been awakened to fly the U.S.S. Vengeance as it accompanies the U.S.S. Enterprise on its five year mission. Under no circumstances will we deviate from our orders, as we have barely made it this far and I will _not _allow any of you to be frozen or for that matter harmed in any way."

"Who's the pretty boy in the front?"

Hearing this shout from one of my crew members, I wanted to punch a wall. The last thing I needed was for anyone to be difficult with Jim, when he was already uncertain about this assignment. But to my amazement, the question didn't even bother Jim. Rather, he set his shoulders and cocked a smile before replying confidently,

"The name's James Kirk, and I'm your new first officer" he spoke, and I did a double-take. Jim had been acting so different around me that I had forgotten his usual carefree and almost smug attitude towards almost all others. Upon realizing this, I couldn't help but wonder why he wasn't this way when he interacted with me. Was it because he felt differently about me than everyone else? He had to, otherwise there wouldn't be a reason behind his change of behavior. So the question remained, what was different between Kirk's feelings for others, and his feelings for me? Was this a good thing, or a bad sign? My mind raced with questions, and I needed answers.

But I knew Jim wouldn't give them to me without a fight.

"Jim will be flying with us and helping us accommodate to Starfleet and modern times," I spoke up. "Should you have any questions in those areas, he will be able to assist you. Now, you all need rest, and so do I. Our quarters are in this building, and you should have been told your room number. Good night, and I will see you at the docking bay tomorrow at eight hundred hours."

I considered stopping after this, but for once my heart and head agreed that I needed to say something more. Taking a deep breath, I continued,

"I cannot begin to express to you, what it means to me that you are alive and well again. You are my family, and I have fought for you as such. Tomorrow begins a new adventure, an adventure I am thrilled to share with all of you. Let tonight be the first of many good nights to come."

There was thunderous applause at my statements, but all I could see, no matter how hard I tried to look away, was Jim. I had to watch him as he clapped for me, and smiled as he saw my dedication to my crew. His grin made my heart flutter and it was all I could do to tear my eyes away from him. However, it was in vain, for they then settled on Minnie, who was still looking at me with a stare that read,

"You're in denial, Khan."

It was a look that I carried with me out of that room and into my own corners. As I settled into my bed to try to sleep, I tried to sort out my thoughts from the day, but I couldn't help it as my eyes heavily closed shut.

* * *

_He was out of breath. Out of breath, but still hungry for more. Pupils dilated. Lungs heaving. A bead of sweat slowly made its way down his brow, and he looked at me with hunger and lust and need and excited terror all at once. I lunged, pinning him to my bed and biting his neck, greedily sucking as he howled and moaned. Such sounds were music to my ears, and wrapping my arms around his waist, I thrust him into my own bare chest, and my lips found his own. Before he could try to fight it, my tongue had buried its way into his mouth, and he let go, allowing me full control._

_It was euphoric and still unsatisfying at the same time. I craved, no, needed confirmation._

_"You are mine, James Kirk," I whispered in his ear as my hands made their way down to his pants. "You. Are. Mine."_

_"I'm yours Khan," Jim replied, his voice laced with desire. Desire for me. Desire for my attention, my pleasure, my love._

_Love I was willing to give._

"Love!" I screamed, bolting upright in my bed, nearly falling out. It seemed as though the weight of the sky was lifted from my shoulders, as the word escaped my lips. A million questions were answered, a million thoughts finally put together, as I realized three very important things that were now the pinnacle of my existence.

First, I was in love with James Kirk.

Second, I wanted to dominate James Kirk in every way possible.

Third, the only was I could love James Kirk and dominate him simultaneously, was to make him fall madly, obsessively in love with me.

With my dream still vivid in my mind, I laid back down in bed, enlightened, and began to think how I could go about doing just that.

* * *

So...better? I hope? I didn't reply to anyone's reviews because I wanted to explain everything in the author's note above, but if you're still feeling eh...I'd like to hear it so I can keep trying to improve! If I made any spelling/grammar mistakes I'm sorry, I wanted to get this posted tonight. Again, if you review, let me know your honest opinion, I'd appreciate it greatly! Oh and if anyone can tell me where I got the names for Khan's crew from, I'll...I don't know what I'll do yet, but I'll do something!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this! Star Trek is not my idea and belongs to its rightful and respected owners! Enjoy!

_Ch. 4_

_Love with a Vengeance_

When the sun rose and cast the light of the new day on my bedroom, I was already awake, fully clothed and ready for the next five years. Luckily I had still gotten _some _sleep after last night's epiphany, but I still woke up an hour earlier than I was supposed to, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't go back asleep. So when I was the sun cross the horizon, that was when my heart finally started to realize what was about to take place. My crew and I together, on a five year mission, and best of all, Jim would be by my side. Having realized how I felt for him, I no longer felt anger or frustration. Now that I knew how to handle my situation, I was quite happy. I was in love with Jim Kirk.

And eventually, Jim Kirk would be in love with me.

Making sure I had all my essentials in my pack, I glanced at my watch. It read seven o'clock, one hour before everyone was scheduled to arrive at the docking bay. Still, I was becoming a nervous wreck just sitting in my small quarters, and if I waited another minute, I would break something out of pure anticipation and excitement. So giving my room a final glance, I opened the door into the hallway and began my walk over to the U.S.S. Vengeance.

No sooner had I left my room than I saw Minnie out the window of the building, walking towards the hangar bay. This made me smile, and as I made me way down to ground level, I realized just how happy I was that she was back. Minnie had always been the one to calm me whenever I was in a rage, and it was quite clear what happened when my anger went uncontrolled. As I left the building and was greeted by the cool morning air, I was tempted to catch up to her and ask for her advice about Kirk, but decided against it. There would be plenty of time later to talk to her about all that had occurred in her absence.

Upon entering the docking bay, I was about to head over to the Vengeance, when I caught sight of the lieutenant of the Enterprise staring at me viciously. When she saw me staring at her, her jaw set and she started to walk towards me. Not wanting to engage with her, I tried to see if there was anyone around to help me escape, but sadly it was me alone with this enraged woman, so I calmly turned around as she marched straight up to me. If I didn't hate her and the rest of her crew, particularly her boyfriend, that damn half-Vulcan, I might have been impressed by her bravery.

"Do you know who I am?" she asked confidently, not showing an ounce of anything but determination.

"You are Lieutenant Nyota Uhura of the Starship Enterprise, and serve as its chief communications officer," I replied, as calmly as possible.

"That's right," she replied. "And you're Khan Noonien Singh, Captain of the Starship Vengeance."

Unsure if she wanted a response, I spoke,

"Yes, I am-

"You are also the Khan Noonien Singh who attacked a meeting of the high officials of Starfleet, led us to Qo'noS where we were almost killed, and now has taken our captain away from us when we need him most. So I'll say this one time, and one time only," Uhura's attitude with me was severely angering me, but I held my tongue as she continued.

"If Kirk gets hurt in any way, shape, or form," Uhura actually showed anger and fear now beneath her confidence, "we will not hesitate to go directly to Starfleet and demand his removal from your ship. And if _you_ are the one who hurts him-

"I will _never_ hurt Jim Kirk," I stepped towards her, allowing anger to seep into my voice now. "And you are the one threatening me? You couldn't bruise my skin, let alone do anything fatal to me."

At this, Uhura had the audacity to step towards me,

"If you hurt him Khan, there won't be anything left for me to hurt on your body by the time Spock and McCoy are finished with you."

Uhura would have been very seriously injured had not someone shouted,

"Captain Khan!"

We both turned to see my own chief communications officer, Merrick, walking towards us, a hesitant smile on his face. When he reached us, I offered him a tight-lipped smile before focusing back on Uhura. She however, did not take her eyes off of Merrick.

"Who are you?" she hissed, and before I could yell at her for daring to speak to my crew that way, Merrick replied,

"I'm Lieutenant Merrick, of the U.S.S. Vengeance," he spoke calmly, still holding a smile, "and I'm it's chief communications officer. I'm hoping over this mission we can become frien-

"jaH Daq Hell," Uhura hissed, before turning around and stalking back to the Enterprise without another word. I looked at Merrick, who was watching her retreating figure with a look of shock and amazement.

"She is something," Merrick turned to me with a shy grin, "don't you think Captain?"

"Something annoying," I replied. "What did she say to you?"

"Go to hell, I think," Merrick responded thoughtfully. "My Klingon's a bit rusty though."

"Merrick!" I nearly shouted. When he flinched at my voice, I realized how loud and brutal I sounded, and forced myself to calm down.

"Why don't you go back to the Vengeance?" I suggested. "Is anyone else from the crew there?"

"Oh yeah," Merrick explained, recovering from my shout. "Almost if not everyone's there. Minnie and Val, Jane, and Jonathan, and I just saw Kirk come in through the north ent-

"Kirk's here?" I interrupted. When Merrick raised an eyebrow, I reminded myself that from here on out, I needed to stop being so obvious about my possessiveness over Kirk. Retaining a calm look on my features, I continued.

"I just wanted to make sure that he was able to find the ship alright."

Merrick just ushered for me to walk over with him to the Vengeance, rolling his eyes as a small smirk crept up his face.

"Watch yourself, Merrick," I warned, but he only smiled wider.

* * *

Take off had gone successfully, with thankfully no further interruptions from the Enterprise and its crew. In fact, we were following the Enterprise through warp speed at the moment, all systems operational and all crew members alive and well. One crew member was doing particularly well as he mingled with the others with a clipboard and asked them various questions. I almost wished that half-vulcan and damn doctor were here to see Kirk working so well with the "flight-risks" that were potentially going to kill him. The only issue I had was that Kirk was working and talking very well with Minnie, and she was returning the favor.

"How is my crew performing so far, Commander Kirk?" I asked, tearing Jim away from whatever conversation he was trying to have with my science officer. Looking sheepish for a moment, Jim replied,

"Doing good Khan. During debriefing last night after the meeting, I was told to interview you all when we first took off."

The explanation was legitimate, but I couldn't help but think,

*Then get over here and interview me next, damn it.*

As if somehow hearing my thoughts, Minnie turned to Kirk and said, "I have to go check on Val with the engine, we can finish my interview later." With that, she rose from her chair and left the room, cocking an eyebrow as she passed by me. Once she had left, everyone else went back to their work, leaving Jim and me to stare at each other across the room. I wanted to order Kirk to come over and interview me immediately, but I waited, until after a few moments, when he spoke.

"Alright Khan, it's your turn."

"As you wish, Commander."

He approached me somewhat cautiously, and as he pulled out a new sheet of paper from his clipboard, I saw just a little twitch of fear in the corner of his mouth. Smiling, I sat back in my chair and allowed Jim to begin.

"Okay, first question," Kirk didn't take his eyes off the sheet except to steal a quick glance at me. "How is the crew functioning together?"

"The first few hours have gone well," I replied. "Everyone seems to remember how things work on a starship and so far, we haven't met any problems during our travels."

"Ok great, everything's fine and dandy," Kirk muttered as he wrote.

"You're not actually writing that are you?" I asked.

"I'm paraphrasing," Kirk cocked an eyebrow and smiled.

"Fine, next question," I crossed my arms, pleased with my interaction with Kirk. Talking with him came easily enough for me, and he seemed to be enjoying himself as well. Perhaps I loved him because, simply, we were made for each other. His playfulness and my serious determination. His boldness and my strategic thinking. Yes, we complimented each other quite nicely. Now it was time to make Jim see that.

"Do you think you and your crew have prepared the Vengeance for the mission after you've gotten some time to pilot the ship?" Kirk asked.

After thinking for a moment, I responded, with a coy smile,

"This ship is ready for everything that comes its way, Commander."

Jim stopped writing only to cough loudly and look at me, blinking a few times while his jaw fell open. After quickly closing it shut, he continued,

"Care to elaborate on that?"

*Oh, I'll elaborate,* my grin grew, and I replied,

"This ship doesn't just look strong. Dig beneath the surface and you'll find a complex system of various strongholds that make it powerful. No one will be able to handle the Vengeance if there are any...surprises...So yes, the Vengeance can handle anything thrown at her," my eyes found Kirk's, and after a moment of silence between us, he nodded and turned back to his clip board. After jotting another quick note, he walked back to his seat. I thought I had won, when I heard Kirk mumble loud enough for me to hear,

"Any ship can be handled once you get used to it and find its weak points, Khan."

"I challenge you to find them, Commander," I said without hesitation. "Oh and it's Captain Khan."

Kirk turned around, a smug grin on his face.

"They can't be that hard to find. After all, every ship could use improvement, even the strongest of all ships, _Captain_."

And with that, Kirk swiveled back around and continued writing on his clip board. My smile had not left my face, and as I watched Jim, it turned into a smirk.

"Are they still talking about the Vengeance?" I heard one of my crewmen whisper to Merrick, who just chuckled and responded so quietly that only my crewman and I could hear,

"They should be."

* * *

Hehehe...they're not talking about the ship... So the next chapter is from Kirk's POV and Spock and Bones are up to no good ;) I hope you liked my Uhura in this chapter, I wanted to add her in since I think she's a pretty cool character! My klingon is actually though pretty rough but I think I got it right...Review please? Thanks again to Angie, Sapere, Bubblelol, and Misa-chan! I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this! Star Trek does not belong to me and belongs to its rightful and respected owners! Enjoy!

_Ch. 5_

_Brown and Black and Ice Cold Blue_

_Status of U.S.S. Vengeance: Normal_

_Status of Khan and Crew: Normal _

Sighing as I finished my self-interview, I threw the clipboard onto my small bed. I had been in my living quarters for three hours now, filling out that stupid paper. And most of it was a waste of time. The first two pages were just about the crew, which I knew no one at Starfleet really gave a shit about. It was the only the last two pages that they were really interested in, but I still had to fill out all of it, didn't I?

*At least you don't have to be on the bridge,* I thought to myself as I made sure all of the interviews of the crew were completed and my own interview was finished before I scanned the answers off to Starfleet headquarters. To be honest, I loved being on the bridge, and that was what scared the heck out of me. Whenever I was on the bridge or basically around a particular individual who I felt staring at me no matter where I went, I loved it. Strangely, I liked being under Khan's constant eye...and that realization in itself freaked me out. Never before had I wanted to be under someone's constant scrutiny, in fact, I usually hated it. But with Khan it was different. Khan made it seem almost...cute? No, that was a bad way to describe it. He just made it seem like he cared about me, and he was watching over me.

Man, my emotions were going to shit.

It wasn't like I could do anything to help it either. Every time I saw that damn superhuman, I blushed like a freaking five year old. And Khan knew I liked him. Oh yeah, Khan had it written all over his smug, handsome face...

"Oh what the hell?!" I shouted, banging my fists against my desk, the sound echoing throughout my room.

*No,* I thought to myself. *No, he will not use me like this. He's only using me. He has to be. There's no way he actually loves me. I was an idiot for thinking anything else before. Why would he love me? Why would that cruel, bold, strong, smart bastard love-

"Commander."

"Sh-Hey Khan," I spun around, heart freezing as I saw the superhuman himself standing in the doorway of my room. His eyes locked onto mine and it felt like he was staring straight through me.

"May I come in, Jim?" he spoke. Damn his sexy voice.

"Yeah sure," I tried to reply calmly as I walked over to my bed to grab the papers. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Khan, watching me as always, a fierce protective look in his eyes. "What did you need?"

"I was wondering if your reports were finished," Khan explained nonchalantly. When I turned to face him, he smiled and continued. "I'd be happy to scan them to the Starfleet base for you."

"That's okay, I can do it," I said quickly, needing an excuse to leave the room. My heart was beating faster than I wanted it to, and the last thing I needed was for Khan to see me flustered and get an even bigger ego. But as I went to pass him, he grabbed my arm with his iron grip.

"I insist," he spoke slowly, and somehow managed to pull me very close to him without barely moving a muscle.

"It's alright Khan, really," I tried to move, but Khan's hold on me didn't budge. Rather, he moved closer, until we were only an inch apart. As much as I hated myself for doing it, I breathed heavily as I stared into those icy blues of his. His smile grew as he spoke,

"Are you always so stubborn?"

"Ninety percent of the time...yeah," I couldn't even think of a response. I was lost in a sea of blue, moving closer to Khan as though he had his own force of gravity pulling me toward him.

"And the other ten percent?"

*Oh shit, oh damn, oh hot damn Khan* my thoughts scrambled as I leaned in and-

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

I practically shit myself as the moment was broken by a shrill alarm and flashing red lights.

"Captain! Commander! We are receiving a call from the Enterprise!" came Minnie's call from the bridge.

If looks could kill, Khan would have even more blood on his hands. The look he gave as I gently unlocked myself and sprinted down the hallway was not a happy one.

Upon reaching the bridge, I was greeted by Minnie, Esther, and Merrick, all of which gave me questioning looks when they saw my flushed cheeks.

"L-lieutenant," I sputtered to Merrick, "accept the Enterprise's call." But Merrick did nothing. He only looked from me to Minnie with a confused expression.

"Lieutenant!" I repeated, but Merrick still didn't end the alarm and flashing lights.

"I-I'm sorry, Commander," Merrick finally spoke, "but only the Captain can order the admission or denial of calls."

"What are you talking about I am the-

"Lieutenant, accept the Enterprise's call."

Whirling around, I froze as Khan walked onto the bridge. After giving me a look that said, "I'm not finished with you," he looked at the monitor of the Vengeance as the call was accepted and a live feed from the Enterprise's bridge appeared.

"Spock," I couldn't help break into a smile as I saw my good friend. Even though I had been on the Vengeance for only a few hours, I already missed him and everyone else.

"Greetings U.S.S. Vengeance," Spock looked at Khan, and then turned to me. "I hope things are going well. We have reached our first destination and will be sending down a small landing party which will consist of four crew members from both ships. I am sending the specifics of the mission over to your ship now."

"Jim," a higher voice than Spock's chimed in from the background, and I saw Carol Marcus suddenly appear on camera, giving me a big smile. Returning the favor, I saw Khan tense out of the corner of my eye, and immediately I had an idea. It was time for Khan to learn that he wasn't calling _all_ of the shots around here.

"Are you coming on this expedition, Ms. Marcus?" I asked, cocking an eyebrow flirtatiously.

"Why yes," Carol beamed, "Spock insisted that I accompany him, Uhura, and Commander McCoy on this expedition. He feels that I will be of much use throughout this five year mission."

While Khan discreetly tightened his fists, I continued,

"Commander McCoy? Bones?" I called.

"Yeah yeah I'm here, don't get all worked up," Bones now appeared in the camera shot too. "Spock made me first officer as soon as we took off, ."

"I'm sure you'll be a _great_ first officer," I replied with a smirk, to which Bones rolled his eyes.

"When will this expedition occur, Captain Spock?" Khan's question seemed calm enough, but I was spending so much time with him that I was beginning to see through his stoic exterior, and right now, he sounded pissed.

"In seven hours' time," Spock turned to look at Khan, and my own gaze landed on Bones, who glanced from me to Khan and back. In Bones' words, that meant

"Everything ok kid?"

I nodded, mentally promising myself that I would tell him and Spock everything later during the expedition.

"Thank you, Captain," Khan seemed to be forcing the words out of his mouth. "We'll be sure to be prompt and prepared for the mission. See you shortly."

And with that, Khan swiftly ended the call, and gave us all a stare that didn't need any words. We all went back to our assigned posts, and as I heard Khan walk around the bridge and speak to Minnie and Esther about joining him on the expedition, I forced myself to remain calm. I made myself to breathe normally as I heard Khan's footsteps approach my seat. And I refused to let my cheeks blush one more time, as the man got unnecessarily close to my ear and whispered,

"Come Commander, we must read over the mission specifics for our evening out tonight."

* * *

As it turned out, our 'evening out' was an awkward collection of Spock, Bones, Uhura, Carol, Khan, Esther, Minnie, and me. We walked through the tunnels of a mountain abandoned by the planet's native people in silence. Spock and Bones were in the front with Uhura and Carol, and Khan and I were following directly behind them with Minnie and Esther in the back. I wasn't thinking much about the mission or anyone except the superhuman next to me. All I knew was that if Khan got any closer, I would have to excuse myself just to not have a heart attack out of sheer panic and excitement. Just being around the man was enough to make me crazy. And if that wasn't enough, Spock and Bones kept exchanging glances with each other that Khan and I could plainly see. I wasn't sure what they were playing at, but I hoped for their sake that they didn't try something that would piss Khan off. Then again, when did they ever-

Suddenly the walls of the tunnel exploded, and I was being thrown onto the ground. Sight and sound erupted as the walls blew up, sending me flying through the tunnel. Without warning, the tunnel began caving in on all sides, and I couldn't control my body as it was thrown around by the sheer force of the blow and the subsequent rock slides that followed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Khan screaming, his hand reaching toward me, and I reflexively reached back, only to have my hand grabbed by someone else.

"Spock!" I cried, as dirt and rocks poured on top of me, crushing me. I couldn't see, hear, or feel anything. All around me was complete chaos, and the darkness that swarmed around me seemed very comforting. As I was thrown one final time onto solid ground, my eyes were amazingly able to see again, and I heard bits of shouts as I laid on the ground in utter shock.

"Explosion caused by pockets of heat and pressure!"

"Injured but vitals are stable!"

"Khan's on the other side!"

Time froze as I heard these words, and even though I was laying down, I felt like I had just been knocked over. Khan was where? What side? I didn't even care if I was acting like an idiot. Mumbling his name over and over again, I turned my head, desperately searching for the man. All I could see, however, was black and brown and blue, ice cold blue that sent a chill up my spine. My ears had stopped giving me the small phrases like they had before. As everything began to slow, and I finally succumbed to the darkness that had been slowly filling my head, I allowed one scream to escape my lips.

"Khan!"

* * *

New chapter! I know I say this a lot, but thanks again for all of the support, so review...please? Just so I know how I'm doing and if you like this Kirk chapter?! I hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 7: UPDATED

Disclaimer: I do not own any of this! Star Trek is not my idea and belongs to its rightful and respected owners! Enjoy!

_Ch. 6_

_Bones_

Darkness. It enveloped me, surrounded me, suffocated me. There was no end to it, but also no beginning. I was floating in a world of nothing. In the past, I often welcomed darkness, and found it comforting, but not now. Not when I was surrounded by nothing and no one. Because darkness separated me from the one person I needed most.

The darkness separated me from James Kirk.

"Khan!"

In a rush, I was pulled from the darkness; partly because of my own will to find Jim and make sure he was ok, and also in part due to the hard slap I received to my face. After blinking rapidly for a moment, I came face to face with no one other than the CMO of the U.S.S. Enterprise, who was wearing his classic annoyed smirk.

"Well it's about time," Commander McCoy snapped. My head was still reeling, but I managed to sit up from the ground and slowly raise it so that I could look around. There wasn't much to see. From what I could tell, we were still in the same tunnel, but now there was a mound of rock cutting off any further part of the path and effectively creating a dead end.

"Dr. McCoy." Both the Commander and I turned to see Uhura, who cast me a scowl before turning her attention to the doctor. I wasn't paying any attention though, for my eyes fell upon the small crumbled heap at her feet.

"E-Esther," I stuttered, trying to get up only to fall to the ground.

"Sit down," McCoy barked and forced me into a sitting position. He then went over to Esther and checked her pulse, nodding at Uhura.

"She's doing better," he explained. "Her pulse is almost returning to normal."

"Will she be alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, she just got knocked out during the explosion," McCoy replied. "She's got a few cuts, but nothing serious. When we get back to the ships you can have your CMO look at her."

"She _is _my CMO," I snapped, doing my best not to roll my eyes. The Commander looked from her to me and back to her, before rolling his own eyes and picking her up and cradling her.

"I'll look at her when we get back then," he said. "Now come on. We need to head back. You were unconscious for two hours, and it's starting to get dark outside. Once we get back, I'll look at both of you and we can regroup. Since you just woke up, I'll carry her," while saying this, McCoy gestured to Esther, "back to the ships."

"What about Kirk?" I hissed, still not being able to find Jim and becoming unnerved that the Commander hadn't mentioned him yet.

"He, Spock, Carol, and the other girl went on ahead," was the reply. "They were going to see if they could find another way out and meet us back at the ships. And before you ask, all of them are fine. Jim got knocked out just like you, but he came to after about ten minutes. Now if you wouldn't mind I don't want to spend the night on this god forsaken planet so can we _go?_"

The amount of rage I felt toward the Commander was unmeasurable, but there was no point arguing with him in my weakened state. Slowly hauling myself off the ground, I shakily stood. Nodding at McCoy, I began to walk behind him and Uhura as we began to make our way back to the Vengeance and the Enterprise. Unfortunately, my body was still very weak, and after about ten minutes of walking, my left leg gave out and I crumpled to the ground. An intense shot of pain shot up the leg, and I couldn't help it as I cried out in pain.

"Lieutenant," I heard McCoy speak to Uhura.

"Why should I help him?" came her hiss. I wanted to punch her for treating me like dirt, but my leg was still flaring with pain and it took all my concentration not to scream again.

"Just help him for god's sake," came the doctor's tense response. "I don't want to be the one to tell his superhuman buddies that we left him weak and alone in a cave to die."

After a heavy sigh, I heard Uhura approach me, and felt her arm quickly grab me at the waist. Slinging my left arm over her shoulder so I didn't have to put any pressure on my left leg, we began to walk again. I couldn't help but notice the small beads of sweat as we continued, and as much as I despised the woman, I was silently thankful for her assistance.

"You and your crew do not like me," I spoke as we hobbled along. Uhura didn't stop or even look at me, but I did notice her slightly tense as we continued.

"Well you aren't exactly warm and fuzzy," she snapped back, "with the, 'I'm better at everything,' attitude."

"That was to intimidate you and the rest of your crew," I explained. "At the time, I was sure that you would betray me if we worked together, and I felt that I had assert myself."

"Bullshit," I heard Commander McCoy mutter under his breath.

"Not that you have been welcoming, mind you," I snarled back. "So far I've been slapped awake, cursed at in klingon, and berated in a public courtroom."

"Poor baby," McCoy replied. "We went through hell and back to save your ass. Jim went through hell. And his reward is that he's demoted and stuck on a ship with no he knows and a psychopath who at one point tried to kill him."

"I never intended to hurt Jim," I insisted, "directly or indirectly. I only want the best for Jim."

"Alright then," the Commander suddenly turned on me, and I saw deep anger on his face. "Answer me this. What if the best thing for Jim _isn't_ being on your ship?"

I felt like I was just slapped in the face. When would the Enterprise crew let go of their previous captain and move on? Jim was mine now, and they needed to accept it. It was terribly infuriating how ignorant they were of what was meant to be, and my patience was wearing thin.

Luckily, my communicator beeped furiously, indicating someone was trying to call me. This instantly relieved me, to know that we were close enough to the ships to receive transmissions. Accepting the call, I watched as none other than Val appeared. My heart dropped as I analyzed the terrified look on his face that rarely occurred.

"Val, what's going on?" I asked worriedly.

"Sir, I did my best, I tried, but ve couldn't help," Val muttered incoherently.

"What are you talking about? What's _going on_?" I asked again, nearly shouting.

"Ve tried, ve did everything we could," I was getting nowhere with Val, and my heart was racing. What if this was about Jim? What if something had happened? What if Jim had been injured in the time I was resting peacefully in the darkness.

I would never forgive myself.

"Oh for goodness sake, give me the com will ya!" I cocked an eyebrow as the screen shifted and I was looking at Mr. Scott from the Enterprise.

"Mr. Scott what are you doing aboard the U.S.S. Vengeace?" I tried to ask as nicely as possible.

"Scotty?" Uhura chimed in. "Is that you? What are you doing?"

"Lieutenant Uhura," Scott replied, "it was terrifying. One minute the Enterprise is sitting calmly next to the Vengeance waiting for you all to return, and the next, she's being taken away!"

"Taken away?" now McCoy chimed in. "What do you mean taken away?"

"I mean," Scott explained, "that somehow another ship managed to completely disable the Enterprise and tow her away into warp with it. It and the rest of the crew. The only way I made it out was because Val beamed me aboard the Vengeance."

"Is this true Val?" I interjected, attempting to take back control of the call.

"Yes sir," Val was now in the camera screen with Scott. "I could only beam one person and that vas nearly impossible itself. Vhoever took the Enterprise managed to paralyze the Vengeance completely Captain. Ve couldn't do anything. I had to use the emergency pover to beam Mr. Scott aboard the Vengeance."

I desperately wanted to ask Val why he would be so reckless to save one of the Enterprise's crew, but I held my tongue.

"Alright Val," I spoke. "We will be arriving shortly. Prepare to beam aboard Esther, Commander McCoy, Lieutenant Uhura, and myself."

"Vhat about Commander Kirk, sir?" Val asked.

"We got separated," I tried not to panic as I realized Kirk wasn't with the Vengeace. "He, Captain Spock, Carol Marcus, and Minnie are still deep inside the tunnels."

"About that," Scott spoke up, "I happened to be looked at the mountain while you all were down there. When you get back, we need to go over a few things."

"And why is that?" I replied.

"That explosion wasn't an accident, Captain Khan," Scott said gravely. "It was a way to separate us, so that we wouldn't be able to go after the Enterprise directly. Whoever is behind this knows what they are doing."

Just then, the mountain around us rumbled and shook, as if in agreement.

"Get back to the Vengeance as soon as possible," Scott spoke, and I had a feeling he was speaking to all of us. "We need to figure out exactly what we are up against and what action we need to take from here."

"What do we do about Kirk and the others though?" McCoy asked. "We can't just leave them here, god dammit!"

"I know you probably don't want to hear this, none of you do," Scott's voice seemed to get even graver, and Val reappeared on the screen with a similar expression. "But most likely, whoever is after the Enterprise isn't part of the Federation, which means they haven't heard of what has happened in the Federation. In other words, they don't know that Jim no longer commands the ship. There's a probable chance that whoever took the Enterprise has a vendetta against its original crew, and more importantly its original captain."

"Which means they're after Jim," Uhura was unable to hide the terror in her voice, terror that I felt sting me in the very depths of my soul. White hot adrenaline rushed through my veins, and in a split second, I felt no pain at all, none in my leg or anywhere else. I could feel blood pumping through my veins, fueling my body to the fullest extent. Ending the call and freeing myself from Uhura's arm, I walked swiftly and steadily, with Commander McCoy and the Lieutenant in tow, fully prepared to utterly destroy any person, people, or army who dared to lay on a finger on my Jim Kirk.

"Commander McCoy," I spoke as we made our way briskly out of the tunnel. "You said that you went through hell and back to save me. I fully appreciate your efforts. I ask in return that you fully appreciate my desire to go through hell and back to save my Commander, your Captain, James Kirk. If you and what remains of the Enterprise's crew, wish to assist me in doing so, I promise that when we are finished, I will allow Jim to decide whether he wants to remain on the Vengeance or rejoin the Enterprise."

Even though I wasn't looking at him, I had a feeling the Commander was staring at me, weighing his options and deciding to trust me. When I received a curt but reassuring nod and a smirk that didn't seem quite so annoyed, I began to feel something other than undying hatred toward the man, something that grew when he replied,

"Call me Bones."

* * *

I'm back! England was great, but it's good to be writing again! I hope you liked this chapter, and Khan and Bones are starting to get along...sort of? They're still gonna bang heads but that's for a later chapter...Anyways, I would be grateful as always to anyone who reviews, thank you for your support thus far, and I hope you liked the chapter!


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